Pivotally collapsible motorcar

ABSTRACT

Small car formed of two parts hinged at the top and adapted to partially fit one into the other, so as to reduce the bulk of the car when the latter is parked, sheltered or transported.

United States Patent [191 Greppi 1 Nov. 26, 1974 I PIVOTALLY COLLAPSIBLEMOTORCAR [76] Inventor: Pierluigi Greppi, 22050 Perledo,

Italy [22] Filed: Jan. 25, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 220,623

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 25, 1971 Italy ..19734 [52]U.S. Cl 296/27, 180/1 A, 180/25 A, 280/36 R [51] Int. Cl 362d 39/00 [58]Field of Search 180/1 A, 1 AS, 1 AW, 1 B, 180/25 A; 280/36 R, 41 R;296/27 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,488,123 11/1949Hartry 280/34 R 3.003.571 10/1961 Ash et a1 280/36 R 3,004,619 10/1961Straussler 280/36 R X 3,254,734 6/1966 Behrmann 280/36 R X FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 771,281 3/1957 Great Britain 180/1 A 1,513,2161/1968 France 280/36 R Primary ExaminerDavid Schonberg AssistantExaminerLeslie .l. Paperner Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Young & Thompson[57] ABSTRACT Small car formed of two parts hinged at the top andadapted to partially fit one into the other, so as to reduce the bulk ofthe car when the latter is parked, sheltered or transported.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENIE anvzs I974 SHEET 10F 3 PIVOTALLYCOLLAPSIBLE MOTORCAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION purpose of reducedproportions and very easy to control. However, for various reasons, thesolutions proposed so far have been scarcely successful, and even in themost fortunate cases, have not gone beyond the production of prototypes.In general, the reason for this has been the difficulty to produce carswhich were actually much smaller and easier to control than thoseexisting on the market, and providing at the same time comfort andefficiency, while the most serious proposals, in spite of the effortsmade, substantially consisted of small, uncomfortable, inefficient cars,often only slightly reduced in size and bulk compared with the smallestnormal cars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention now proposes a type ofsmall car which clearly differs from all those known so far, and whichsolves very well the up to now serious and hard problems of traffic,parking, sheltering and transport, through a variation of its size froma position of use to a position of parking, sheltering and transport, soas to provide comfort and safety in use and eliminate some of thegreatest disadvantages when the car is at rest (with the advantages easyto imagine both for the drivers and for some of the traffic problems)and during transport thereof (with great improvement in the organizationand economy of the manufacturing firms).

The small car according to the invention is substantially characterizedby the fact that it is essentially formed of two parts, hinged togetheratthe top, one of said parts being adapted to partially fit into theother, in the longitudinal direction of the car, through rotation aboutthe common hinge, after unlocking from the position of use of meansconnecting the two parts, in order to reduce the size of the car forparking, sheltering or transport, by drawing the front wheels closer tothe rear wheels.

The means connecting the two parts of the car preferably comprise, inaddition to said common top hinge, two chassis elements, one for eachpart of the car, said elements being on one side hinged one to the othersubstantially at the centre of the car, and on the opposite side pivotedon said parts of the car, the hingeing and pivoting axes being paralleland substantially horizontal.

It is convenient for the chassis elements to have a metal box-likestructure and to comprise, at the side hinged to the part of the car,one or more extensions for the support of supplementary wheels, at leastsome of which are transversally arranged.

Preferably. the car is provided with two seat elements. each connectedto one of the parts of the car itself. and with means for causing thereciprocal rotation of the two parts, said means acting on the chassiselements, and is further provided with means for causing the rotation ofthe supplementary wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other purposes, characteristics andadvantages of the invention will become evident from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the small car, givenby merely by way of example. This embodiment is schematicallyillustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the small car in the position of use;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the car, corresponding to the side view of FIG.1; and

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the small car according to the invention inthe position of reduced size for parking, sheltering and/or transport.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawings,the small car according to the invention comprises two parts, of whichthe front part 1 carries the front wheels and the rear part 2 carriesthe rear wheels, said two parts being hinged one to the other at the topat 3. The front part 1 is equipped with the steering members 4 and withthe driving motor acting on the front wheels. Said front part 1 containsa transverse seat 5 and is closed on the sides by two doors 6, hinged infront at 7, and on its front by a wide and high windshield 8. The rearpart 2, comprising windows 9, contains a transverse seat 10, which canbe reached by pivoting the back 5' of the front seat 5.

According to the invention, the connection between the parts 1 and 2 ofthe car is provided at the top by means of the hinge 3 and at the bottomby means of two chassis elements 11 and 12. These elements are formedwith a stout box-like metal structure and may also be appropriately usedas suitable tanks and/or containers for petrol and other liquidsrequired for the running ofthe car, or for any goods and/or equipment.The first chassis element 11 is pivoted at its front tapered end (seeFIG. 2) to the part 1 of the car at 13. Likewise, the chassis element 12is pivoted at its rear tapered end to the rear part 2 at 14. The twoelements are then hinged one to the other at their inward ends,substantially at the centre of the car, along the axis 15. The relativeposition of the parts, in the conditions of use of the car according toFIG. I, is ensured by pawl means 16, illustrated in the same figure.Such means may easily be released for parking or transport, as shown inFIG. 3. To obtain this transformation of the car, it is convenient toplace between the chassis elements 11 and 12 a jack 17, mounted underthe chassis itself and connected at 18 to element 11 and at 19 toelement 12. The illustrated jack 17 is a hydraulic jack, the rod of itspiston projecting entirely from the associated cylinder in the positionof use of the car. Alternatively, an electrically actuated jack could beused.

In the condition suitable for parking the car (FIG. 3) it is appropriateto provide means to cause the transverse displacement of the vehicle.For this purpose, a pair of supplementary front wheels 20 may be used,carried by supports 21 forming forward extensions of the platformelement 11. These wheels are arranged so as to take up a transversevertical position when the car is in the parking condition of FIG. 3. Itis convenient for one or both of said wheels to be driving wheels and,for this purpose, a small selfJocking electric motor 22 has beenprovided, which is shown in the drawing as acting only on the rightwheel, the left wheel being idle. A pivoting wheel 23 is mounted idle ona small suitable support 24 pivoted on the rear extension 25 of thechassis element 12.

The problem of seals is very easily solved in the car described andillustrated. The seal between the two parts at the roof is of littleimportance, since the car parts involved do not slide reciprocally andare further placed, in the condition of FIG. 3, in greatly inclinedpositions. For this area, therefore, as well as for the simple rearrabbets of the side doors, one may use ordinary door gaskets, with astructure against dripping. These gaskets are marked with referencenumbers 26 and 27 in FIGS. 1 and 2. It should be noted that the gasket27 has a double function, in that it also helps to act as a rabbetdirectly between the front part 1 and the rear part 2 of the car.

The invention further provides for a carpet 35, to cover the whole floorof the car and acting as a lower seal.

The carpet is shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1 and is shaded in FIG. 2.It has to be placed and fixed onto the chassis elements 11 and 12 andprovides gaskets for all the seals at the periphery of the chassiselements themselves and their pivoting areas.

The carpet 35 may provide special sealing gaskets at its periphery,particularly in the area of the chassis elements close to the fenders 28of the front part I and close to the fenders 29 of the rear part 2 ofthe car. Thus, with a single element, one obtains the sealing on thelower parts of the whole car compartment, as well as an efficient coverfor its floor.

Other features of the small car according to the invention comprise: theassembly of the steering column 4', hinged at 4" and guided by a sleeve30 which is supported by a connecting rod 31 connected to the platform II, and the articulated connection ofthe rear seat 10 to the car platformI2, which have to follow the movements resulting from the changing ofthe parts from the condition of use according to FIG. 1, into theparking condition of FIG. 3; the provision of a handle 33, to facilitateor replace by hand the action of the jack 17; the use ofelectric,hydraulic or combined control devices, placed outside the car so as tobe easily reached by the user.

In use. the car will take up and be able to hold steadily the conditionof FIG. I, once the locking pawl 16 will have been operated. which pawlmay be any suitable known type of mechanism.

When the driver wishes to park or shelter the car, or when the car hasto be transported, it is first of all necessary to provide for thelocking of the front wheels with suitable brakes, and then for theunlocking of the pawl I6. The jack I7 is then operated. The tractiveeffort transmitted by the latter elements 11 and 12, leads such elementsinto rotation. so as to draw the rear wheels closer to the front wheelsof the car, causes the elements themselves to take up a position forminga narrow angle and then place the parts I and 2 ofthe car in thecondition according to FIG. 3. During the last movements accompanyingthe changing of the car from the condition of use to that of rest, thesupplementary wheels 20 and 23 come to bear on the ground, and on suchwheels the whole vehicle gradually raises itself from the ground, thewheels 20 being locked and the wheel 23 favouring the last movements ofpart 2 of the car, thanks to the fact that it is mounted in a freelyrevolving position.

Once the car is in the condition of FIG. 3, the transverse displacementsare made possible by starting in one direction or the other the smallmotor 22, without any risks of false moves since the motor is providedwith a self-locking device.

Simple reversal controls allow the car to return from the parking andtransport condition to the condition of use.

The advantage provided by the small car described is evident, both inthe case of parking (where small spaces will easily and safely be usedto place the car, and where the space of the single parking-places willbe notably increased), and in the case of sheltering (both in publicgarages, where the cost of sheltering may be reduced owing to theincreased space provided for sheltering cars, and in small privategarages, where it will often be possible to shelter the small cardescribed together with the normal larger car, without requiring alarger garage), and also in the case of transport (where the number ofcars to be transported by a single carrier will provide remarkableadvantages to the manufacturing firms and encourage or make possible insome cases export programmes otherwise prohibitive).

Although it is evident that the greatest advantage de riving from thecharacteristics of the small car according to the invention will be hadin the urban use of the car itself, it is more than clear that the cardescribed has no limitations of any kind which may discourage its useover long distances. Even for this use it will provide itscharacteristic advantages, with undoubted satisfaction for its user.

It is to be understood that the embodiment described and illustrated ofthe small improved car according to the present invention has been givenhereabove merely by way of example. Many modifications to thisembodiment may therefore be possible without thereby departing from thescope of the invention itself. It will thus be possible, for example, toproduce the small car with a single seat placed in the rear part, thuslimiting further the longitudinal dimensions of the vehicle, both in thecondition of use and in the parking, sheltering and transport condition.Different from those described, or differently conceived, may further bethe members connecting the two parts of the car and the means foroperating the locking thereof. the means for controlling the relativemovements of the two parts themselves and the means for moving thetranverse wheels, the way to operate said means and the automationdegree of the controls.

I claim:

1. A small collapsible motorcar having a body enclosing a passengerspace and a chassis, the body being in two parts, means pivotallyinterconnecting the two parts at the top of the two parts for relativevertical swinging movement about a horizontal axis between collapsed andextended positions, the chassis being in two parts, means pivotallyinterconnecting the two chassis parts for relative vertical swingingmovement about a horizontal axis. and means pivotally interconnectingeach chassis part with one of said body parts for relative verticalswinging movement about a horizontal axis, all said horizontal axesbeing parallel to each other, one of said body parts telescoping withinthe other said body part.

2. A small collapsible motorcar as claimed in claim 1, there being apassenger seat in each of said two parts. 1, in which the rear body parttelescopes within the forward body part.

A Small cpnapslble mptorcair as clalmeq m Glam 1, and flexible carpetmeans on the floor of said body 1, and means interconnecting said twochassis parts at 5 their ends for vertical swinging movement relative toCovermg Smd Chasm and flexing when Smd Chasm each other about a singlehorizontal axis. Part5 PiVOt relative to each Other- 4. A smallcollapsible motorcar as claimed in claim 5. A small collapsible motorcaras claimed in claim

1. A small collapsible motorcar having a body enclosing a passengerspace and a chassis, the body being in two parts, means pivotallyinterconnecting the two parts at the top of the two parts for relativevertical swinging movement about a horizontal axis between collapsed andextended positions, the chassis being in two parts, means pivotallyinterconnecting the two chassis parts for relative vertical swingingmovement about a horizontal axis, and means pivotally interconnectingeach chassis part with one of said body parts for relative verticalswinging movement about a horizontal axis, all said horizontal axesbeing parallel to each other, one of said body parts telescoping withinthe other said body part.
 2. A small collapsible motorcar as claimed inclaim 1, in which the rear body part telescopes within the forward bodypart.
 3. A small collapsible motorcar as claimed in claim 1, and meansinterconnecting said two chassis parts at their ends for verticalswinging movement relative to each other about a single horizontal axis.4. A small collapsible motorcar as claimed in claim 1, there being apassenger seat in each of said two parts.
 5. A small collapsiblemotorcar as claimed in claim 1, and flexible carpet means on the floorof said body covering said chassis and flexing when said chassis partspivot relative to each other.